Geneva preview: A trio of concepts from Toyota and Renault
Newswheel staff :: 07 February 2006 :: Filed under Crossover, Hybrid, SUV, Renault, Toyota, Europe & UK, Trade shows, US
Geneva overfloweth
The more premature the, er, pre-Geneva PR launch, the more we suspect the manufacturer in question is fearful a given car / concept would struggle to be heard above the cacophony of new kit at the show proper. Does that sentence make any sense? We have no idea. So, simply know this: Toyota and Renault have jumped the gun with a trio of Geneva-bound concepts.

We’ll give Renault its 15 pico-seconds of fame first. The Altica is your typical crossovery, sporty estate type concept that’s awfully popular at the moment. According to Patrick le Quément, Renault’s design guru, the “Altica strikes a successful balance between flowing and sporty lines. This car is an original and futuristic vision of the sporty estate car, while its graphic identity is both bold and innovative.” Right on, Patrick.

Power is provided by a 177bhp 2.0-litre four pot diesel lump which Renault naturally claims is all low-fuel-consumption things to all high-performance-thirsty men. More significantly, this new engine will be tipping up for real in production Lagunas later this month. Other tech specs of interest include “Sythetic Jet” active aero which generates jets of air at delamination points and is claimed to reduce the car’s Cd drag factor by 15 per cent at 80mph. Oh, and all that for an energy consumption of just 10 Watts. The Altica weighs 1,300 kilos, hits 62mph in 7.5 seconds and packs 21-inch rims that you won’t be seeing on any Renault production car soon.

Inside the Altica. Just a little more attractive than a Clio
But what of Toyota? Its early offerings are a production-plausible mini SUV and a faintly batshit fuel-cell hybrid vehicle. The Urban Cruiser was designed by Toyota’s Euro studio. Don’t be surprised to see something similar plugging the gap between the Lexus RX300 and Toyota Rav4, soon. As for the Fine-T concept, we’ll leave the flowery prose to Toyota’s in-house wordsmiths. “The Fine-T is the next step in fuel-cell hybrid vehicles and offers the cabin space of an Avensis within the approximate exterior dimensions of a Yaris. An independent four-wheel large-angle steering system confers an extremely tight turning radius, impossible to achieve with any conventional car.” Toyota will also being showing off the new Yaris T Sport, an updated Prius hybrid and another cutting edge concept called the i-swing at Geneva. Over and out.


Urban cruiser above, Fine-T below. Geneva crowds nowhere to be seen





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